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"Bringing together your wildlife conservation skills and your experience of leading and developing community wildlife initiatives you will mobilise participants in Ipswich to create a street by street network of hedgehog-accessible habitat and monitor their activity."

It is hoped the job will protect hedgehogs in Ipswich (Image: Reuters)

The officer will also be expected to "inspire streets of people to act together to create habitat links and remove barriers to hedgehog movement between gardens as well as establish a network of feeding, nesting and hibernating habitat across the town.

"Reaching out to communities across the town you will be the face of hedgehog conservation leading hands-on community activities, training events to raise awareness of the needs of hedgehogs and the oppportunity to turn around their fortunes in Ipswich.

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But not everyone in the town is thrilled at the project - one said: "Frankly I 'd rather see the money go to help the homeless, the women 's refuge or the food bank."

The post is being funded by a Heritage lottery grant and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

The Trust manages 53 reserves across the county with the help of 63 employees and 1,300 volunteers.

Hedgehogs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act but their numbers in the UK have declined sharply - in the 1950 's there were estimated to be more than 30 million but that number has now dropped to around 1.5 million.